(Markus)

"Andres tells us you're seeing someone," Joe said teasingly. Tom nudged him with his elbow, and the two of them looked mighty fucking smug. It was beyond irritating.

"The girl you went home with that night, right?" Tom added.

"Wait, you've met her?" Joe asked, his head whipping between the two of us.

"They met at the club when I was working the bar. He flirted with her for less than ten minutes before they left together. Somehow this socially stunted dick-head's got some strong game. It was fucking magnetic, I nearly went home with him."

"You heard wrong," I grunted. Why Andres had been telling people about Daisy, I couldn't understand. The chatty bastard was always telling people shit they didn't need to know. And they especially didn't need to know about the woman currently back at my flat babysitting my dog.

I wasn't about to bare my bloody soul to these fuck-wits about how fucking stressed I was every second that I spent with her, or how I was almost certain I was going to fuck it all up any day now.

I could barely even think about her right now without breaking into a cold sweat. I'd been a fucking moron this morning. What had I been thinking, kissing her like that without thought as if it was a Goddamn habit of ours? We were friends; albeit friends that sometimes fucked while drunk. We were the kind of friends where I spent all my time thinking about how attractive she was, not the kind that kissed each other casually or cuddled or did all the other soppy shit I was so desperate to do with her.

I hated this pussy-footing about, not knowing where we stood or what she wanted from me. But every time I tried to talk to her about it, my fucking tongue wouldn't co-operate and I became mute instead. Every time we were alone, every evening that I taught her in the gym, I wanted to ask what she wanted from me. I needed to know that this wasn't just a casual thing for her.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

This wasn't the first time I was interested in someone. This wasn't the first girl I had spoken to. And yet, it seemed my stupid anxiety had worsened over the last few years since I had last dated, and I found myself unable to function like a normal person around anyone who wasn't Dev, my family, or the guys.

"Oh, really?" Matt laughed, baring a toothy grin. He was still flushed and sweaty from his workout, and I shoved him away when he tried to rest his arm across my shoulders. He laughed and wiggled his eyebrows at me, cooing, "So who's the blonde walking over towards us, then?"

"Very funny, you dick," I scoffed, yet my heart still leapt in my throat at the mere thought that Daisy was here. It hadn't even been two hours since you last saw her you idiot.

"He's not joking," Joe said more seriously, nodding behind me. "White, blonde hair, five-six, maybe five-seven. She's wearing gym clothes. Looks like she doesn't want to come over here." Had Andres showed them a fucking picture? I was going to smack the shit out of him next time I saw him.

"She's not here," I huffed adamantly. "She's at my place."

"Aha! So she is your girlfriend!" Tom enthused triumphantly. Without needing to look at or communicate with each other, they both high-fived, and the audible slap of their palms felt mocking.

"Seriously, though," Joe added, "She is coming over here. Making a lot of eye contact with me. Got a dog too, which is a bit weird."

"Wait, what?" I whirled around, following Joe's eye-line. What the fuck?

There she was, just as they'd described, with Bisto in her arms. As soon as our eyes connected she stopped, and shot me an awkward little smile. I was definitely frowning at her, certain that I was seeing things, but that didn't seem to deter her as she resumed her approach. Bisto looked half asleep, completely unaware of my presence as she relaxed in Daisy's arms. I wasn't sure if I should be bothered that my dog could bond so easily with others, or if I should just be happy that she got along with the girl I was half-obsessed over.

"Hi!" Daisy chirped in that overly energetic way of hers, her enthusiasm wavering slightly as she eyed Tom and Joe who were staring at her with wide eyes and wide smiles like fucking creeps. Before I could apologise for their weird behaviour, she was up on her toes, her lips pressed softly to my cheek.

Inhaling sharply, my heart stuttered at the warmth of her unexpected touch.

"Not dating my ass," Joe murmured under his breath as he and Tom turned away from us. I withheld the desire to hit him.